By Ben Shapiro and Shreya Vaidhyanathan, Editor-in-Chief and Co-Managing Editor

President Joe Biden opened his 2024 reelection campaign on Friday in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. He delivered remarks in advance of the third anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Biden began the address at Montgomery County Community College by highlighting his recent visit to the grounds of Valley Forge National Historical Park. He described the site as a show of the “true patriotism it took to make America.” 

In his speech, Biden spoke largely about the future of American democracy.

“Today we’re here to answer the most important questions: Is democracy still America’s sacred cause?” Biden asked.

Biden criticized former President Donald Trump’s lack of response to the Jan. 6 attack, calling it “that day we nearly lost America.” 

“Imagine he had gone out and said ‘stop.’ But still, Trump did nothing. It was among the worst derelictions of duty by a president in American history,” Biden said.

Biden declared Trump the “Election-Denier-in-Chief” and claimed that he is unconcerned about America’s future.

“Donald Trump’s campaign is about him, not America, not you. Donald Trump’s campaign is obsessed with the past, not the future. He’s willing to sacrifice our democracy to put himself in power,” Biden said. “Democracy is on the ballot. Your freedom is on the ballot.” 

After Biden’s speech, college student and Voters of Tomorrow press secretary Jack Lobel claimed that the rioters on Jan. 6 proved how “the extreme ideology of Donald Trump goes against everything young voters stand for.”

“In a little less than a year, young voters will turn out and defeat Donald Trump,” he said.

Voters of Tomorrow is a nonpartisan and Generation Z-led 501(c)(4) organization with the mission of engaging young Americans in politics. 

“We will organize, vote, and demand accountability in 2024 and beyond,” the organization wrote in a statement remembering the events of Jan. 6. “Trump is the greatest threat to American democracy in Gen Z’s lifetime.”

Newly elected Dauphin County Commissioner Justin Douglas opened the event and welcomed the president to the stage. Gov. Josh Shapiro and Senator John Fetterman were also in attendance.

Biden is scheduled to travel to South Carolina on Monday to continue the campaign trail.